Civic Summit: Austin’s Asian-American Identity will air on KLRU on October 8, 2015 at 9 pm, moderated by Esther Chung Martin, Executive Director of the Asian American Resource Center Nonprofit. Our panelists will be:

Want to learn more about Austin’s Asian-American heritage? KLRU’s Austin Revealed: Pioneers from the East profiles three of the first families of Chinese origin to settle in the Austin area – the Sing family, the Wong family and the Lung family. Watch and learn more about the project

Austin ISD Interim Superintendent, Dr. Paul Cruz, is the sole finalist to become the permanent superintendent. Until the school board officially confirms him, AISD is hosting 5 community forums around the district. KLRU hosted one of those forums Tuesday evening in Studio 6A. Civic Summit: Student & Teacher Townhall will air Thursday, January 22, at 9pm.

During the hour-long discussion, hosted by Judy Maggio, Dr. Cruz spoke about a variety of issues facing the district including the school finance lawsuit, expanding pre-K, working with the newly elected City Council, equity among students, and so much more. PBS Student Reporting Labs All-Star and local high school senior Kennedy Huff fielded questions from our studio audience, made up of students, educators, parents, and community members.

The full show will be posted online on January 22. Until then, you can watch excerpts in the YouTube playlist below.

This Civic Summit was part of KLRU’s American Graduate initiative. As an American Graduate station, KLRU is seeking a clearer understanding of the nature and impact of the dropout problem in our region, and is partnering with organizations working to increase graduation rates. You can find more information about the initiative by visiting: klru.org/americangraduate.

Join KLRU on January 13, 2015 for a townhall with Dr. Paul Cruz, the sole finalist for AISD Superintendent.

DATE: January 13thTIME: 7 pm (doors open at 6:30 pm)LOCATION: KLRU’s Studio 6A (map)RSVP: This event is free but an RSVP is required. RSVP now

Austin ISD Interim Superintendent, Dr. Paul Cruz, is set to become the permanent superintendent of our region’s largest school district. Before the school board votes to confirm him, Civic Summit invites students, teachers, and you to ask him questions in a discussion moderated by Judy Maggio and PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs All-Star Kennedy Huff.

This production is part of KLRU’s American Graduate initiative. As an American Graduate Station, KLRU is seeking a clearer understanding of the nature and impact of the dropout problem in our region, and is partnering with organizations working to increase graduation rates. You can find more information about the initiative by visiting: www.klru.org/americangraduate.

Join us online for the final debate of the 2014 Mayoral Runoff. KLRU, KUT, and the Austin Monitor are hosting a debate today at noon between Steve Adler and Mike Martinez. As always, the event is free and open to the public. But, if you can’t make it here, you can join us live on YouTube.

KLRU is hosting one more debate before runoff election day between Mike Martinez and Steve Adler on December 7 at noon, in partnership with KUT Radio and the Austin Monitor. It will be broadcast live on KLRU.

We’d love to hear what questions you’d like us to ask the candidates. Or, tell us topics you’d like us to drill down on. You can post a comment below, tweet @klru using #atxmayor, email us: CivicSummit@klru.org, post a comment on the KLRU Facebook page, or call and leave a voicemail: (512) 475-9073.

This isn’t the first time we’ve produced a debate in the 2014 race for Austin Mayor. You can see our August 27 forum here, and our conversation about leadership with Adler and Martinez from November 13 here.

As always, this Civic Summit is free and open to the public. You can RSVP to join our studio audience here.

Join KLRU and the Obesity Action Coalition for an online social screening of Civic Summit: Obesity, Weight Loss and Body Acceptance on Wednesday, September 17 at 3:30pm. The program, which first aired in March, is a conversation about the complex issues and experiences surrounding obesity and weight loss.

The discussion will use a platform called OVEE, which allows viewers to watch and discuss PBS programs together from anywhere. Conversations that happen during an OVEE are enlightening and engaging.

You’ll also get the chance to ask questions of our panelists from the show. Joining us are Dr. Connie Stapleton, psychologist and author of Eat it Up! and Thriving! – Triumph after Trauma, Joe Nadglowski, President/CEO of Obesity Action Coalition, Abby Lentz, Founder of HeavyWeight Yoga, and John Archibeque, Bariatric Surgery Program Coordinator at The Bariatric Center at St. David’s North Austin Medical Center. We’ll discuss the struggles members of the obese community face and the many options available to them.

Austin voters will elect 10 council members in November from 10 new geographic districts. They’ll also elect a new mayor who will be the only person on the dais tasked with governing the city as a whole. On Wednesday, August 27, KLRU and the Austin Urban Land Institute hosted the first televised mayoral debate of the election cycle.

Steve Adler, Sheryl Cole, Mike Martinez, Todd Phelps and Randall Stephens answered questions from moderator Jennifer Stayton, host of Morning Edition on KUT 90.5, Austin’s NPR station. Most of the conversation centered around transportation as well as how the mayoral candidates plan to manage a larger, more diverse City Council.

Watch the video above to hear each candidate’s plan to move Austin forward. Election Day is November 4.

By now you’ve probably heard the news: Austin voters will elect 10 council members in November from 10 new geographic districts. They’ll also elect a new mayor, the only person on the dais tasked with governing the city as a whole. KLRU and the Austin Urban Land Institute are excited to announce we will host one of the first mayoral debates of the election cycle, just days after filing closes, moderated by Jennifer Stayton of KUT News.

During Civic Summit: Mayoral Candidate Forum we’ll hear each candidate’s plan to move Austin forward and find out how each will navigate a new council structure with 10 distinct points of view.

To participate in the forum candidates must have officially filed all of the necessary paperwork required to appear on the ballot. Each candidate must also show evidence of a campaign. That includes, but is not limited to, distribution of volunteers and contributors, presence of a headquarters, campaign staff, and campaign appearances. Candidacy must also be significant, meaning the candidate can demonstrate voter interest and support either in the form of independent and reliable polling or media coverage.

The forum will take place in KLRU’s Studio 6A on August 27 starting at 7pm and will be open to the public. Doors open at 6:30pm. An RSVP link will be coming soon. The forum will be broadcast on KLRU the following evening, Thursday, August 28 at 8pm.

DATE: April 3
TIME: 7pm (Doors open at 6:30 pm)
LOCATION: KLRU’s Studio 6A, 2504-B Whitis at the corner of Dean Keeton and Guadalupe (map).
RSVP: The event is free but an RSVP is required. RSVP Now

Civic Summit: East Austin Revealed is a community discussion examining East Austin’s race issues, past and present. African Americans in Austin have historically formed communities east of I-35, originally by law. As our city grows these communities are threatened, leading to the dissolution of close-knit relationships built over time. Dr. Kevin Michael Foster, Associate Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies at UT will moderate a panel discussion including opportunity for audience comments and questions.

Guests include:

Lee Leffingwell, Austin Mayor

Dawnna Dukes, State Representative

Wilhelmina Delco, Former State Representative

John-Michael Cortez, Community Involvement Manager, Capital Metro

Natalie Cofield, President and CEO of the Greater Austin Black Chamber of Commerce

The discussion will follow a screening of Austin Revealed: Civil Rights Stories, a documentary featuring interviews with prominent citizens about their experience during Austin’s civil rights period, the effect of segregation and what gentrification has meant to the city. Watch the Austin Revealed videos

All of Me: A Story of Love, Loss and Last Resorts will air nationally on Independent Lens March 24th at 8 pm. KLRU is the presenting PBS station for this documentary, which explores the relationships between a group of women from Austin who have been friends — and morbidly obese — for years. But now, having weight-loss surgery is about to upset everything they thought they knew about health, happiness, friendship and love.

KLRU produced, and is distributing to PBS stations nation-wide, a townhall-style show called Civic Summit: Obesity, Weight Loss and Body Acceptance. The Civic Summit explores the complex issues and experiences surrounding obesity and weight loss. This panel discussion will raise questions and provide information and insights related to the physical and emotional challenges confronting those in our society who are obese. Experts in the field of weight loss surgery, mental health, wellness and body acceptance discuss the struggles, stigma and prejudices faced by members of the obese community and the many options available to them.

All Of Me focuses on the journeys of three of these Austin women: Judy, who is determined to succeed while her husband is conflicted; Dawn, who had an early career as a fat model and calendar girl, and struggles with both her weight and identity; and the heaviest of the Girls, Zsalynn, who, at over 500 pounds, desperately tries to save enough money for surgery, for her young daughter’s sake.

Through their stories, All of Me shines light on our attitudes and prejudices about obesity — its causes, challenges, and the intense psychological struggle so many have with food that no surgery or diet can cure. The Girls take us through their food addiction and emotional eating with a searing honesty. For a group so often vilified, joked about, or ignored, All of Me provides a platform for their stories and encourages viewers to take a fresh look at our own prejudices and complicated relationships with food, fat, and our bodies.

KLRU worked with filmmaker Alexandra Lescaze on both the documentary and the Civic Summit. Lescaze is a NY-based documentary filmmaker and the Executive Director of the Sidney Hillman Foundation, home of the annual Hillman Prizes in Journalism and monthly Sidney Awards, honoring excellence in journalism in service of the common good. Her first film, Where Do You Stand? stories from an American mill, documented the 25-year effort of North Carolina textile workers to organize a union in the face of modernization and globalization.